I can’t believe it’s been a year since Harbingers came out! Amid outlining and drafting and second-guessing and redrafting Book 3 of Sword and Starship, it’s nice to remember that I am actually capable of turning out a decent finished product—and I will, when it’s ready! Not a moment sooner. My creative process is like carving a statue from marble: I have to chisel through tons of rough language and bad ideas before I get anywhere close to the good…
I hope everyone had another wonderful holiday! Among my very generous haul this year was a silly yet cool present to myself: a plasma lighter that just happens to resemble the one my heroine Dame Jessamine uses in the Sword and Starship series for both cigarillos and snooping. Unlike her, I don’t regularly have need of portable fire, but this will make candle-lighting easier. I tend to burn through a good number of those during winter, hoping to make my…
Happy (late) Thanksgiving to whomever that applies! :) Not the best start to the month here: I caught a cold that hit me on Halloween and lasted for a few weeks. Fortunately, it was minor as such things go. Symptoms came and went, but my brain and energy levels weren’t as badly affected as when I had pneumonia or the flu. A few days in, I was back to writing during my scheduled time, although under the blankets in bed….
Happy belated Halloween! We got an extra big treat this year: a paved street! It. Is. Glorious. And hey, I give as good as I get. A giveaway for my mailing list recipients just wrapped up, and I’ve mailed the winner a signed Blood’s Force paperback. If you’d like to be in on the next giveaway, whenever that might be, click here to sign up. You’ll also get some free short stories to tide you over while I work on…
Hello again. This was quite an eventful month! I’ve been frantically trying to do everything possible to protect my credit in the wake of the Equifax hack, while also begging my senators not to jack up my health insurance and kill millions of Americans … again. And, as you see above, our construction adventures continue. When dealing with 70 year-old streets and 100 year-old plumbing, there are always surprises. For instance, did you know it was possible to shake a water…
The eclipse wasn’t terribly dramatic in Pittsburgh. Even with 81% coverage, it just looked like heavy cloud cover (the Sun is kinda bright, who’da thunk it?). Still, the weather was great, and it was really nice how many people came outside to see it, passing around glasses and using telescopes and whatnot. However, 2024 ought to be even more exciting for us! I might be persuaded to drive to a location with full totality. I just have to get over…
Hello again! Another month has flown past—and as you might’ve guessed, that 1-month construction project outside my house has stretched into Month 3. They’ve had to cut into stuff that was finished years ago to lay pipe or whatever; that’s what you see depicted above. Unfortunately, they’ve also ripped out all the greenery that the fireflies used to hang out in. They’re supposed to put it back in and then some, so I’m hopeful for that. Updates: Still outlining book…
It’s been over 3 years since I left the rat-race behind and became a full-time writer! The time keeps flying past. I’m a much happier person overall, and I’ve never once entertained the idea of going back to the grind. Income breakdown (just for fun, $$$ is never the goal): – I’m still making about $300-$400/month writing and editing at The Daily WTF. (Feedspot recently ranked us #29 of their top 100 humor blogs, which is pretty neat!) – My…
New month, new website! :D I’ve spent the past few weeks learning and tinkering with Bootstrap in order to bring swordandstarship.com online. It’s dedicated exclusively to the Sword and Starship series. I plan to eventually include “fun stuff” there (like artwork and device backgrounds), and possibly a store where people can order bundles and/or signed copies of books. If you have any ideas of what you’d like to see there, leave a comment or send me an email! In the relatively near future, I hope to…
Say hello to Book 3 so far! :) I’m experimenting with storyboarding for the first time. It’s a little tough because my computer notes change a lot faster than I can keep up with on paper, but I like this exercise because it helps me realize when my ideas don’t have enough “oomph”—too little emotional content, too little conflict. I’ve saved myself several rewrites already. (As a general note, folks: the more you kick your characters in their metaphorical nuts,…